Search engine optimization is a necessity in modern-day marketing. And while it’s definitely something you can learn to do yourself, true expertise requires a lot of time and dedication to achieve. So you’re probably better off working with moving industry digital marketing experts instead. But that doesn’t mean you can hire just anyone and let them do whatever they want. Instead, you’ll need to know which important questions to ask your SEO specialist before hiring them and while planning your strategies with them. This will help you not only choose the perfect expert for your business but also stay on top of their work.
Important questions to ask your SEO specialist when hiring them
A good SEO specialist can make a huge difference for your business. But first, you must find the right one – someone who knows what they’re doing has a plan for your business, and can work well with you and your team. So, before you hire anyone, make sure they’re the right person for the job by asking them a few very telling questions.
Ask about previous experience and references
Experience is far from the only indicator of quality. After all, experienced professionals can still be subpar and plenty of new talent is more than capable. But it’s still good to know if the specialist you’re considering has done SEO for moving companies, how successful they were, and what their previous employers thought of them. So when you meet with an expert, ask to see their previous work and contact the references from their CV. This will at least give you some idea of what to expect.
Ask about day-to-day work and communication
Even if you hire the absolute best expert in the field, you’ll still want to stay on top of their work. So you’ll need to be able to contact them. But how will this communication unfold? Will they get in touch with you or do you need to take the initiative yourself? Is email or phone a better way to get a hold of them? The answers to these questions will affect how you conduct business with this specialist, should you hire them. So it’s important to know such things in advance.
Ask about prices
Just like your customers need to know how to calculate relocation costs, you need to be able to prepare the budget for your business. You can’t do that if you don’t know how much you need to set aside for an SEO expert. So ask every specialist you interview how much they charge for their services and what is included in those services. Odds are that you will interview multiple SEO professionals; knowing their prices can help you decide which one to hire. That doesn’t mean you should choose whoever offers the lowest price, however. You should always go for the most cost-effective solution: the person who offers the most for the least amount of money.
Important questions to ask your SEO specialist while working with them
Even after you start working with your chosen SEO expert, you’ll probably continue to have questions about their work. This is good! Healthy communication is important in a work environment. Besides, you should always know what is happening with your business. So what are some things you’ll probably want to ask a specialist you’ve already hired?
Ask what they need from you
No one can produce results out of nothing, not even an SEO expert. They might not need an office in your building. But you’ll still have to give them something to work with. They might, for example, need more information about your business. Or they may benefit from any market research and customer surveys you’ve done in the past. Finally, they’ll probably have questions for you too – what your goals are, what kind of brand you want to build, how quickly you expect results, how much you’re willing to invest, and more. Every SEO specialist is different so you won’t know exactly what they need until you ask them.
Learn about their strategies
Even if you yourself don’t know much about responsive web design and SEO, it’s always good to stay informed about everything your employees, contractors, and business partners are doing. This helps you stay in control of your business and plan for its future. So take the time to discuss your new expert’s strategies. Ask them about what they plan on doing, how, and how it will benefit your business. If there’s anything you don’t understand about their craft, ask for an explanation. A true professional will take the time to ensure you’re on board with their process.
Get regular reports on their work
It’s very important that you keep track of the progress your SEO expert is making. Otherwise, how will you know that what they’re doing is working? So you should set up a system for regular reports – biweekly, monthly, or whatever else you both agree on. Ask them how they usually operate and go from there. Remember to discuss the exact information you want to see in the reports – never assume that everyone is on the same page as you. Be clear about what you want to see and how often.
Important questions to ask your SEO specialist about the future
Search engine optimization is not something you do overnight and then forget about; it’s a long-term commitment. So it stands to reason that a good SEO expert will stay with you for a while at least. As they spend more time working with you, they’ll probably start to understand your business better and come up with ways to improve on their current strategies. These kinds of suggestions from employees and partners can be vital to improving your business.
So you’ll probably want to bring up some important questions to ask your SEO specialist about the future. Where do they see your business going? How do they plan to build on your SEO success in the future? Do they plan on staying with your business or are they looking at other offers? You should know these kinds of things in advance.
